Food. History. Nonsense.

We’re done with the rice chronicles, and hurtling towards the end of the season, so this week, we don’t even cover food! Instead, snuggle up with your favorite quarantini, because it’s time to talk about the birth of the fanciest cocktail. We discuss Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Yalta conference hangover, why you might ever muddle an olive, and FDR’s infamously terrible cocktails. Finally, we debate whether or not Joseph Stalin invented the pickleback.

This week, we reach the end of the Tolstoyesque saga that has been The Rice Chronicles. We return to one of our first stops on our journey with rice to discuss parallel histories of rice and fermentation in Japan and Korea, some old and classic colonialism tactics, and the key differences between gimbap and sushi, because they are not the same! Finally, we explain why Korean culinary history can be difficult to trace aka why gimbap has so many names.

We’re continuing our rice series by not talking about rice. Instead, we head to North America to talk about an aquatic grain that has played a central role in Indigenous cuisine across the Great Lakes region for centuries. We discuss how wild rice is harvested, the role of wild rice in the origin story of the Ojibwe, and the evolution of the wild rice economy. Finally, we give you a glimpse into our storied podcast planning process.

Our rice series continues, and this week we move further west and into Egypt to discuss a cherished rice and lentil dish. We discuss the history of lentils and rice as a combination, migration during the heyday of the British Empire, and why pasta makes a guest appearance in kosheri. Finally, we revisit the connections between carboloading and street food.

Happy self isolation, and please enjoy our first episode of the new social distancing landscape. In this episode of our rice series, we’re leaving East Asia and heading to Iran to talk about one of the country’s most beloved rice dishes. We discuss how rice arrived to Central Asia, the rich cooking culture of the Safavid Empire, and the pre-Islamic origins fo Nowruz, aka Persian New Year. Finally, we speculate which Christian scholars may have dabbled with non-Christian faiths.

Another week, another episode about rice! We’re taking a short trip from Japan to Korea as we talk about the trendy rice dish. We discuss traditional Korean food theory, the role of efficiency in developing an all-inclusive meal, and the possible precursors to the bibimbap we know and love today. Finally, we talk about the Oscars.

This week, we’re continuing our rice series and discover how the histories of rice and sushi are intertwined. We discuss how to ferment fish, revisit the street food revolution of the Edo period, and explore how a humble dish became an elevated art form in Japanese cuisine. Finally, we talk about how refrigeration revolutionized so many of the beloved foods we’ve discussed so far.

This week, we’re kicking off another starchy series as we dive into the origins of a certain white grain. We discuss how to control rivers, how a good starch can help grown an empire, and the history of boating in the South Pacific. Finally, Faye explains why anthropology degrees can help you succeed in the world.

This week, we’ve got another celebratory, sugary, filler of an episode, but it’s not all fluff. We’re investigating the shadowy world of corporate espionage in candy-making, discussing the life and legacy of a prodigious candy man, and clarifying, once and for all, that the Pennsylvania Dutch do not speak Dutch. Finally, we debate whether or not peeps are actually good.

It’s our first episode of the decade! In this episode, we discuss the development of food pouches in the western hemisphere, the mythology of Three Kings Day, and how non-Latinx Texas families started hosting tamaladas. Finally, we extoll the virtues of the deliciousness of tamales.

NOTE: In this new year, we’re resolving to release episodes on a more regular schedule by moving our release day to Sundays.